Coronavirus Hits London Financial Center Forcing Evacuation

By Simon Clark and Sarah McFarlane

U.S. information giant S&P Global Inc. evacuated 1,200 employees from its London office Thursday as a precaution against the coronavirus after a person diagnosed with the illness visited the building in the Canary Wharf finance district.

Employees were asked to work from home until further notice, an S&P spokesman said.

The sick person who visited was an HSBC Holdings PLC employee, S&P told staff in an internal memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. HSBC, Europe's largest bank by assets, said Thursday that an employee at its headquarters in Canary Wharf was diagnosed with the coronavirus. An HSBC spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the affected employee visited S&P.

"Following confirmation that a person who recently visited S&P Global's offices at 20 Canada Square has been diagnosed with COVID-19, as a safety precaution we have decided all S&P Global employees based in Canary Wharf should work from home until further notice," S&P said in a statement. The company said it has a "robust business continuity plan to ensure there are no disruptions" to its operations.

The affected HSBC employee "is under medical supervision and has self-isolated," the bank said in a statement. "We are deep-cleaning the floor where our colleague worked and shared areas of the building. Colleagues on that floor, and others who came into contact with him, have been advised to work at home. Based on medical and official advice the building remains open and operates as normal."

HSBC's global research department was the area affected, according to a person familiar with the situation. HSBC, which has extensive operations across Europe and Asia, said last month that it could take up to $600 million in additional loan loss provisions if the coronavirus crisis extends into the second half of this year.

S&P said in the internal memo to employees that it "will perform a thorough deep clean of the entire office and will monitor the condition of employees who may have had contact with the affected individual."

Write to Simon Clark at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2020 15:35 ET (20:35 GMT)

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